Occhi Indaco - Big Squal and Burning diesel

It’s just past midnight and we have been sailing for 12 whole days now. We have finally reached calm seas, but maybe a little too calm. We have had to put on the engine and have been motoring for the last 6 hours. The forecast does not really give us any hope that it will change any time soon. We are heading a little south to see if we can find any sailable wind. We really hope this will be our only night of motoring. The engine has kept our crew awake with its rumbling.

Yesterday evening it was a bit windy. Crew was on deck - one playing the guitar and having to secure the music with laundry pegs. Throughout the evening we were ahead of Skye blue but alas, they passed us and we ran into terrible squalls. A double whammy. Right around 22:00 we registered on the radar 3 fronts that seemed to be merging and heading towards us. Extra crew was called on deck so we could get ready in time. Headsails were taken down and the main was reefed and extra sail ties were put on to keep the main secure.

The wind shifted 40 degrees around us to begin with. It was difficult to keep up with the changes. The darkness surrounded us and we knew we were in for a dooozy….one crew member went down to secure all hatches to avoid new waterfalls. The rest of the crew stayed in their cabin thrown back and forth and while they stayed dry they also stayed sleepless.

There were 3 crew on deck trying to handle the chaotic situation whilst entangled in their safety tethers. This accidentally occurred with the shift change at the helm. The windex was turning 360 degrees numerous times and we were constantly adjusting the boom to avoid any unintentional jibing or tacking. We must say skipper did a fantastic job in handling the boat and communicating. All this happened during a torrential downpour and we were all soaked to the core.

Once the squalls passed we came into a dead zone with little to no wind, but eventually the wind picked up again. Fortunately the rest of the night continued with no further happenings and everything took place according to its original schedule.

Today has been slow going. We tried to fish in the morning but upon snagging a fish the line broke and we lost both the Fish and our favourite squid lure. Now as we have lost some fishing line it’s become much more important to untangle the remaining knotted line.

The boys finally did their laundry - thank goodness - so now the deck is covered in drying clothes once again.

We had an all American favorite for lunch - grilled cheese and tomato soup. After lunch the crew sweltered in the sun with no winds to cool them down. They dreamed of jumping in the water - maybe tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, motoring, and watching the sunset. Even the skipper got to slow down and watch the beauty of it all. He loves the sunset and still loves his crew. ❤️